Scarifying the lawn: why, when and how often?

Scarifying the lawn removes thatch and moss and promotes good lawn growth.We show why it's worth it and give precise instructions.

Lawn care is like preventive health care: Eating fruit and vegetables regularly is far less strenuous than curing a long-lasting cold or flu. It is up to each lawn owner to decide whether he or she wants to put in a little effort to take care of the lawn or wait until the tedious one is over lawn repair becomes unavoidable or even impossible at some point. Therefore, we recommend scarifying the lawn before it gets into a worse condition.

Below you will find detailed instructions on how to scarify your lawn, as well as maintenance tips to ensure your lawn recovers well after the rigors of scarifying.

Why scarifying the lawn is worthwhile

Poor soil, a lack of nutrients or lack of care can lead to moss and thatch formation in the lawn. Moss and felt impair the growth conditions for lawn grass. Water and air are less able to penetrate the soil and, in the worst case, the grass roots suffer from a lack of water and oxygen. This weakens the grass and leads to even more moss and felt formation. In order to break this vicious circle, moss and thatch are removed during scarifying. This means that lawns that are not matted or covered in moss do not need to be scarified. Most hobby gardeners can hardly imagine this dream scenario, but in sunny locations with loose, nutrient-rich and well-aerated soil, i.e. on ideal lawn locations, is actually rare moss formation.

Why is it worth scarifying the lawn?

• Moss and thatch are removed
• This improves the growth conditions for the lawn grass, since water and air can penetrate the soil again and permeability is increased

How often should you scarify the lawn?

Scarifying is carried out as needed and therefore not at regular intervals. Unnecessary scarifying weakens the grasses more than it promotes them - at least if they enjoy good growing conditions without the intervention. Even in the worst possible location and unfavorable soil properties, scarifying should be carried out at most once a year. In the long term, annual scarifying is of course tiresome, so if possible, efforts should be made to combat the causes of moss and thatch formation. Here you can read how you can do it in the long term Remove moss in the lawn.

When should you scarify the lawn?

The best season for scarifying is spring, when grass is already starting to grow. Then you should start with the scarifying and then the spring fertilization with a primarily organic lawn fertilizer like our Plantura Organic Lawn Fertilizer make. With this care, your lawn is optimally prepared for the warm season and has the chance to use the wounds that have occurred at its roots for branching. The increasingly longer days also give it the energy to be one step ahead of the weeds and also the shade-loving moss. If you have the choice, you should definitely scarify in the spring.

Early autumn until the end of September is not quite as suitable for scarifying. But because the lawn still grows slowly even at temperatures of over 8 °C, it can still use the autumn to close the wounds in the lawn. After scarifying in the fall, the autumnal lawn fertilization can be carried out - here is It is essential to use a potassium-rich, low-nitrogen autumn lawn fertilizer to prevent frost damage to the lawn avoid. We have our Plantura especially for this purpose Organic autumn lawn fertilizer developed to protect your lawn against crisp cold temperatures. Here you will also find more information on how to make your Make the lawn really winter-proof.

Since their leaves and roots are injured when scarifying, the lawn plants then have to fight to regulate their water balance. Warm and humid weather, i.e. growing weather, optimally supports the lawn in its regeneration and ensures that it does not dry out. So if it's too dry and no rain is forecast for the coming day either, you should rather leave the scarifier - or use the lawn sprinkler.

When should you scarify the lawn?

• The perfect time to scarify is in spring when the grass is already starting to grow
• Scarifying in autumn is possible, but not ideal
• So that the regeneration of the lawn is not made unnecessarily difficult, scarifying should take place in warm, humid weather

Instructions for scarifying the lawn

So that you really do something good for your lawn, the correct procedure when scarifying is crucial. A previous deep mowing to about 2 cm and the removal of the lawn clippings is absolutely necessary so that the grass is not pulled out when scarifying. A scarifier should scratch the turf slightly and not mill the ground. The working depth of the blades must not exceed 2 to 3 millimeters, because the turf is severely damaged even when working 4 to 5 millimeters deep. When scarifying, the lawn should be worked at least once lengthways and once across. Of course you can also use a manual scarifier for this. Between work steps and at the end, the thatch is removed with a rake, which is also much easier to do on a short-cut lawn.

How is the lawn properly scarified?

• Mowing before scarifying (about 2 cm deep)
• The scarifier is adjusted so that it only digs 2 to 3 mm into the soil surface; otherwise the grass roots may be damaged
• The lawn should be scarified at least once lengthwise and once crosswise
• In between and finally, the worked out material is removed with a rake

Maintain lawn after scarifying

When the device is set correctly, scarifying only damages the grass roots as much as is necessary. Nevertheless, it presents the lawn with special, exhausting tasks. In order to promote the regeneration of the lawn, a few other care measures follow the scarifying.

Aerate the lawn after scarifying

Like scarifying, this also serves Aeration (aeration) of the lawn to improve the air and water permeability of the soil. But while scarifying only removes the overlying thatch layer on the ground surface and the turf by lightly scratching stimulates branching, the implements penetrate 10 cm or deeper when aerating the lawn in order to literally cover the soil "ventilate". When aerating the lawn, the turf is punctured deeply at certain points and water, nutrients and oxygen can reach the lawn roots better, which promotes their branching. The lawn is aerated to remove soil compaction near the surface and can be carried out 2 to 12 times a year as required, as the entire turf remains intact. After aerating, the resulting holes are filled with sand.

Tip: Aerating the lawn can also be done independently of scarifying and much more frequently.

Sand the lawn after scarifying

On heavy, cohesive soils, the soil should be sanded after scarifying. By bringing in sand like ours Plantura Premium Lawn Sand the proportion of air-carrying coarse pores in the soil is increased and the soil structure is permanently improved in accordance with the requirements of the lawn. The soil organisms are also doing much better with a better oxygen supply. The sanding of the lawn By promoting lawn plants and soil organisms, it prevents the formation of moss and thatch again.

After scarifying, overseed and fertilize the lawn

It is normal for the lawn to look a little plucked after scarifying. With good care, an evenly thinned lawn area will soon be densely covered with new green again. However, if there are larger bald spots, which are particularly common in damp, shady and compacted areas in the garden, they are overseed after scarifying. This is important so that a closed turf is formed again and renewed moss and weed infestation is prevented. the Plantura lawn reseeding or the Plantura lawn repair are ideal for treating the bald spots in your lawn. Because the lawn had a particularly difficult time in these places, you should clean the seedbed well prepare, loosen a compacted soil well, mix with sand and mainly organic fertilizer incorporate. Here you can read again how that lawn seeding succeed.

Fertilize the lawn after scarifying

After scarifying, you can fertilize the lawn. Now the soil is exposed and the fertilizer can be easily incorporated. A good nutrient supply now gives the heavily consuming lawn plants the decisive advantage over unwanted weeds. However, you should watch out for excessively high nutrient concentrations, especially if you have reseeded at the same time Do without: If the soil solution contains too many nutrients, this will result in soft, vulnerable and poorly rooted young lawn plants. You can hardly go wrong with one primarily organic lawn fertilizer. The slow release of these lawn fertilizers not only leads to a healthier emergence of the plants, it also will soil life through the introduction of organic material and a continuous release of nutrients promoted.

As a biological and long-term lawn care we have our Plantura Organic Lawn Fertilizer and our Plantura Organic autumn lawn fertilizer developed. They ensure an active soil life, the lawn thatch in nutrients and humus implements. The even supply of nutrients prevents unchecked moss growth. The primarily organic fertilization after scarifying ensures a dense lawn without weeds in the medium and long term, which needs to be scarified less often.

How is the lawn properly cared for after scarifying?

• Very heavy soils are aerated in addition to scarifying; airing can also be carried out independently of scarifying, even monthly if required
• Sanding is mandatory after aerating and also has a beneficial effect on lawn growth after scarifying
• Bald spots created during scarifying should be improved and overseed
• After scarifying, primarily organic fertilizers should be used to prevent moss and felt formation in the long term; we recommend ours in the spring Plantura organic lawn fertilizer and ours in the fall Plantura Organic Autumn Lawn Fertilizer – for a frost-hard lawn

More to the right Lawn care all year round you'll find here.